Well I officially started Custom Made Music in Fall of 2007. However I started distributing recordings and working with bands around 1988. In High School I had a band that played Cure and Ramones covers and we wrote our own songs too. We recorded a homemade demo and started selling them and trading them at school and it just evolved from there. I'd make copies of our demo and put other local bands songs on the B side of the tape so that people could hear our friends bands too. Eventually I had friends in all the area high schools and colleges passing these tapes around. I started booking shows too. After meeting a few touring bands I started making comp tapes that had bands from other areas on it. Soon I started helping bands distribute their 7"'s and LP's at shows and around 94 I was able to help put some money towards pressing some records for a few bands. I kept up a steady catalog of stuff that I distributed all the way till around 2004. At that time the music industry really changed a lot as far as how labels and distributing music worked. In 2005 I switched gears and focused on running a few music venues here in Virginia. However in 2007 I realized how much I missed putting out records so I started up Custom Made Music and it's been building ever since. So in a manner of speaking Ive been doing this for a little over 20 years.

Q. Do you consider that Custom Made Music is a shoegazer oriented label? What´s the context behind it.....

Well Custom Made Music certainly work with many bands who have a sound that's rooted and influenced by the original shoegaze sound. We also work with bands like The Static Minds who are a straight up rock n roll band along the lines of The Stooges and The MC5 and we have done other punk & garage rock type releases in the past. I release music from bands that really inspire me and it happens to be that I like a lot of music being made by bands who are heavily influenced by the sounds of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Jesus And Mary Chain and others of that era. I however don't limit the music I release on the label to any specific genre or sound.

Q. Who are your influences/heroes?

From a label perspective I'm influenced greatly by Tony Wilson and Factory Records. The attitude and mind set behind that label is pretty much a blue print for any aspiring small label. Other labels that have had a major influence on me would be Too Many Records/Very Small, Creation Records and SST. As far as hero's go I'd have to say my dad George Allison. As a kid I woke up every Saturday morning to music he was playing on the living room turntable and that's what really got me into listening to music all the time.

Q. What´s your opinion about the classic shoegazer era?

I was a huge fan of all of the original shoegaze bands. In high school a friend of mine would tape 120 minutes every Sunday night and Monday after school we'd hang out at his house and watch it. I'll never forget seeing the video for Ride's "Like A Daydream" for the first time. I was definitely hooked at that point and we would anxiously await the next release from each band. That original scene has just been so influential on so much other great music to come out over the years it's unbelievable.

Q. What´s your opinion about the new shoegazer era?

I enjoy listening to many of the new bands out there that have fallen under the shoegaze moniker. Personally I enjoy the bands that put their own spin or add in other influences to their sound besides just borrowing from the bands that where a part of that original time period.

Q. Make a list of your top five records from all time?

Man that's a tough one. How about a list of 10 records that I hold in very high regard.

T Rex "Electric Warrior"

The Stooges "Raw Power"

New York Dolls S/T

David Bowie "Hunky Dory"

The Velvet Underground & Nico

Black Flag "The First Four Years"

My Bloody Valentine "Loveless"

The Jesus And Mary Chain "Psycho Candy"

Brian Eno "Music For Airports"

Roxy Music S/T

Q. Tell us about forthcoming stuff from Custom Made Music...

Well we just released two new E.P.'s one from Ceremony called "Not Tonight" and one from The Sky Drops called "Making Mountains". which are available now. We also just got in some limited edition copies of the Screen Vinyl Image/Rude 66 split 7" which is a release we've been really looking forward to. Then there's a new Screen Vinyl Image 12" single for their song "Too Much Speed" coming out in a couple of weeks. Other new releases include a split 7" from my band Last Remaining Pinnacle & Pan Galactic Straw Boss as well as a new Dead Leaf Echo E.P. called "Verisimilitude" that is a collection of remixes and collaborations. Later in 2012 there will be a new Screen Vinyl Image full length album and a new Dead Leaf Echo single as well as a few other releases.

Q. What´s your favourite Custom Made Music release?

Well they are all favorites and I have different reasons for each one being a favorite. When you put so much time and energy and love into each release, well that release becomes a part of you and that's what happens each time I put out a record. Putting out records is something I'm very passionate about and I honestly can't think of anything else I'd rather do.

And now about Last Remaining Pinnacle:

Q. About your personal band, Last Remaining Pinnacle, when the band starts?

Last Remaining Pinnacle started in 1995 as a solo project.I focused mainly on harsh noise and ambient soundtrack type recordings. Making these recordings was a great outlet for me for a good number of years. I loved seeing how intense I could make each recording. From 1995-2001 I recorded many cassette releases and was featured on a bunch of different compilations from various labels that were released on vinyl, CD and cassette formats alongside bands that ranged from Merzbow and The Locust to Less Than Jake and J Church. Over the years I started doing demos for more "Song Like" material while continuing to do an ambient/soundtrack type cassette release from time to time. In 2009 I got the chance to do a live show and I that's when my wife Chrischa joined me as the other member of Last Remaining Pinnacle. The sounds has shifted to a more dark psych rock/drone guitar based sound since she joined and our most recent song "Students Of The V.U." that's on the upcoming split 7" with Pan Galactic Straw Boss is a reflection of that.

Q. Who are the influences from the band?

Oh there are so many. Chrischa and I just love so much stuff and it all plays in to the music we make. A few that stand out would be Dinosaur Jr, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, MBV, NON, Joan Jett, Van Halen, Replacements, JAMC, The Ramones, The Cure, Def Leppard, Brian Eno, T Rex, The Woven Hand, New Order, The Stooges, The Ventures Arcade Fire, The Shins and so many more.

Q. Tell us about the process of recording the split 7´´?

Our song for the split 7" was recorded by Steven Jordan who is also the guitar player in Pan Galactic Straw Boss. We recorded it all in our house. I had written the basic idea and done a demo of the song a few months earlier an played it for Chrischa. Once we started practicing it for a live show we decided to incorporate more experimental sounds into the basic riff. When we went to record the track with Steven everything just flowed together well and we are really happy with how it turned out.

Q. Describe Last Remaining Pinnacle sounds?

I'd say dark psychedelic atmospheric sounds led by fuzzed out guitar's and almost tribal like drumming. There's also a great amount of experimental sounds going along with the guitars and drums including droning synths and samples that we use to add to the dynamics of the songs. I think we both look at the band as a way to channel out a lot of aggression. It's also a really great thing to be able to do together and I know I wouldn't want to play with anyone else.

Q. When the album comes?

The split 7" with Pan Galactic Straw Boss has an official release date of Tuesday April 26th. There will be a couple of limited versions that will only be available through the Custom Made Music site and at our shows that will come out before the official release date.

Q. What´s the plans for future?

We plan on playing as many shows as possible this Spring and Summer. We are also going to be releasing a split 7" with Cult Of Dom Keller around July of this year. Cult Of Dom Keller are an amazing Psych Rock band from the U.K. We're also planning a couple of other 7" releases and then an E.P. that will feature all the 7" tracks by the end of 2011.

Q. Any Final Words?

Thank you Renato for all your support of Custom Made Music and Last Remaining Pinnacle. We appreciate it very much and thanks to all the bands that work with Custom Made Music and to those that enjoy the records we release.